More frequently, optical input/output (I/O) is being used in computer systems to transmit data between system components. Optical I/O is able to attain higher system bandwidth with lower electromagnetic interference than conventional I/O methods. In order to implement optical I/O, radiant energy is coupled from a waveguide to an optoelectronic integrated circuit (IC).
In optical interconnect systems the coupling of light from an optoelectronic IC to waveguides (or fibers) is important to minimize the total optical loss of the system. However, this is not always possible since such coupling depends on the specific architecture implemented and the optical components used. This coupling loss minimization results in reduction in total system power budget. Such conservation of total dissipated power is even more important for ultra short reach (USR) optical interconnect applications.